Crown and Bridge

Once a tooth has had a filling done, it is inevitable that the filling will need to be replaced at some stage.

The rate of replacement depends on a number of factors including:

The diet.

Home care of the patient.

The size of the existing filling.

Dental decay is a preventable disease but if there is no change in a person’s habits once they get a filling, such as better brushing and flossing habits and a low sugar diet, then the filling will need to be redone much more quickly and a larger filling placed.

There does reach a point when the size of the filling affects the strength of the tooth. Typically, when more than 60% of the tooth is filling, the tooth is more likely to have part of it break off due to a lack of strength. Sometimes, teeth can even split down to the root of the tooth. This is a serious situation as the tooth cannot be fixed when this happens and needs to be removed.

To try to prevent these kinds of catastrophic events, when a tooth becomes more than half filled, we discuss with the patient what other options are available to them to make their tooth stronger. A lot of the patients at Centre Street Dental are electing to have their teeth crowned when they get to this situation.

What Is a Crown?

A dental crown is like a thimble that covers over the whole tooth and holds everything together.

Crowns generally are made of either gold or porcelain.

Gold crowns are very durable and work really well in the mouth. However due to their colour and an increasingly aesthetically conscious public, they are not used as much these days. However, they are still quite commonly used on lower back teeth where the aesthetics is not so crucial.

Porcelain crowns are used in most situations as they can be made to mimic the appearance of the tooth. They are strong and are used in most smile design and reconstruction cases as well as for single teeth.

What Is a Bridge?

Bridges can be an option to restore a space where a tooth has been removed. They are constructed as crowns on the teeth on each side of the space with a porcelain tooth across the space. They are particularly useful when the teeth either side of the space have large existing fillings.

With the introduction of implants, bridges are now not used as often as a treatment option.

Should you be concerned about the strength of your teeth or the size of your fillings, we can assess your mouth and discuss options with you.